making news in america this morning, isaac strengthening. >> in an ominous scenario, the storm is roaring in the gulf of mexico, target, the gulf coast on what will be the anniversary of hurricane katrina. republicans are making changes to their convention schedule and an extremely brief session is set for today. hello convention season. we have the results of a new abc news poll. republican mitt romney and president obama in a dead heat. from afghanistan, another insider attack. an afghan solder opens fire causing more deaths among those on the same side. good morning, everybody. what is turning out to be a busy

monday morning. we begin with isaac. >> the storm is gaining strength this morning as it spins in the gulf of mexico. states of emergency are in effect across the entire gulf coast. residents watching, waiting, and hoping for the best. republicans are adjusting their convention schedule. >> it's getting serious out there. evacuation orders, school closings. t.j. winick starts us off. he's in tampa with the latest. good morngo u,j. >> reporter: rob a paula, good morning toou both. righnow, activities at the repuican con e vengs hav been canceled for the day as florida governor rick scott and all those in the gulf states prepare for isaac, which is strength strengthening at this hour. the center more clear. after at least eight died in haiti, the storm ripped across key west was aing flooding. the storm is expecting to pick

up steam. it could be a category 2 when it hits the coast. >> i urge mississippians to monitor their local media and heed all warnings and evacuations issued. >> reporter: just days before the anniversary of hurricane katrina, the city of new orleans is on edge. >> with katrina, we thought, it will be okay. it ended up being the worst. >> reporter: the city has declared state of emergency. officials are warning be ready for anything. >> we're encouraging all of our people the stay alert, monitor local waerlt conditions in their area, follow up with what local officials are telling them. >> reporter: in south florida, millions pummeled by wind and rain. >> we're going ride it out until afterwards an see how everything is going to go. >> reporter: across the state, schools are closed for over 1

million students today. strong winds and over a half foot of rain are in the forecast. the convention was scaled back from four days to three. >> i got my raincoat on. i'm ready for some weather. >> reporter: the republican convention here in tampa will convene for just five minutes today. really a formality. before adjourning until tomorrow. rob and paula? >> all right, t.j. winick reporting from tampa this morning. thanks, t.j. staying with the political part of the story, our brand new abc news poll released this morning shows president obama and mitt romney in a statistical dead heat. >> mr. obama lags when it comes to the economy. >> 50% of the voters trust romney to handle the economy. the president seven points behind. one final political note

this morning, ron paul is lashing out at what he says are efforts to marginalize his supporters at the convention. paul urged the supporters to stand firm. he's so far refused to endorse romney. keep it here on abc news as we cover the national convention this week. diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos will anchor our coverage. it kicks off at 10:00 p.m. eastern time. back to isaac, millions of people are keeping a close eye on the storm. so we turn to accuweather for the latest. >> jim dickey joins us with the late latest. >> isaac looks to strengthen, moving into favorable conditions, warm water, 86 to 90 degrees, the water temperature. it will bring rain the remainder of the day.

strong gusts, as well. the storm will continue the strengthen, like lly becoming a category 2. as isaac barrels ahead, people in haiti are struggling to clean up. at least two children were among the eight people killed across the poverty-stricken nation. mo than 14,000 haitians have been forced from their homes. in japan, the flooding rains of a typhoon have hit the island of okinawa. many offices and schools werer closed because of blackouts. about 25,000 troops are stationed on that island. two american troops were killed in afghanistan this morning, victims of so-called

insider attacks. the troops got out after a road side bom was discovered. a dispute ensued and two american soldiers were killed. in syria, word of what could be the worst mass killing yet in that bloody civil war. activists report seeing the bodies of more than 300 civilian ifs the city of damascus. syrian state tv reported that armed forces have cleansed the town of terrorist groups. a government helicopter was reportedly shot down. it is spiraling here to the ground. we're following a developing story overnight from central america. a 7.3 earthquake has struck off the coast of el salvador, followed by a 5.3 aftershock. a tsunami warning was issued by

pulled back afterwards. rural southern california has been rattled by moderate to small earthquakes. the largest one was a magnitude of 5.5 centered near the town of brawley. mo immediate reports of serious injuries. with that, let's look at the weather from across the country on this monday morning. isaac could spawn tornadoes along the gulf coast. thunderstorms along memphis, little rock, and dallas. heating up in the rockies. scattered afternoon showers in the northeast from boston to d.c. >> 90s from billings to colorado spring. 70s in the pacific northwest. 80s from the midsection into the east coast. coming up next, after the break, where you won't see the candidates for the rest of the campaign. and two rental car companies on the verge of becoming one.

and you might remember former south carolina governor mark sanford, well, he's going to the chapel. i'll spare you my singing voice. >> please do.

welcome back, everyone. there's major deal in the rental car business. hertz is buying dollar thrifty in a $2.3 deal. after sever years of trying to take over the smaller rival, regulators still have to okay this deal. it could lead to less

competition and higher prices. general motors has a message to president obama and mitt romney. please stay away until after the election. gm is banning the candidates from campaign visits. trying to distance themselves. but the u.s. treasury is the largest gm stock hold i. aaa says the average price of unleaded gas is now $3.75 a gallon. 16 cents higher than a year ago. prices, they are expected to be pushed even higher as isaac disrupts oil production in the gulf of mexico. and samsung says it's not done fighting. they're vowing to go all the way in the supreme court after being ordered to pay more than $1 billion in damages to apple. a california jury ruled against samsung in a widely watched

patent case, saying they copied technology from the iphone and ipad. well, the expendables is proving to be dependable at the box office. "the expendables 2" was the weekend winner once again. it took in 13.5 million bucks. "the bourne legacy" second and "paranor man" was third. >> all three of the box office numbers together would not be nearly enough to buy the most expensive apartment in asia. >> an unidentified buyer is buying the 12th floor doctor 8 of a 12-story building. it almost makes manhattan look

reasonable. when we come back, an issue so many parents have questions about when it come to their baby boys. and details about the new one none other than snooki has now welcomed into our world. [ music playing ] [ music playing ] you won't run into deals this big just anywhere. head to sears labor day event right now. get up to 30% off appliance. plus, use your sears card and save an extra 5%.

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you had to find a bunch of documents just to get a car insurance quote. now express lane finds your driving info with just one click, saving time to be nostalgic about the days before express lane. thank you, insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. it's going to be the big ories of the week. tropical storm isaac is ermming flori ast goes west this morning. it's forecast to hit new orleans and louisiana as a category 2 hurricane. it's expected to make landfall on wednesday, the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. now for a look at morning road conditions. isaac drenching highways along the florida coast. a slick commute from memphis to houston.

roads are wet in the rockies. if you're flying today, airport delays are possible in miami, new orleans, and dallas. the most influential group of pediatricians has made a decision about circumcising liddle boys. they say the health benefits outway any risks. >> the doctors saying that insurance companies should pay for the procedure. pediatricians say parents should make the decision etch though it reduces the risks of hiv and other infections. a hate crime trial gets under way this morning. 16 members of the amish group accused of hair-cutting attacks. they say the government should not get involved in internal church matters. they could face long prison terms in convicted. the coast guard is hoping to

have shipping traffic moving again on the mississippi river after a barge got stuck. 18 vessels were waiting to head north and 21 more were waiting to head south. the drought has drastically lowered water levels. fires are still burning in venezuela's biggest refinery. the blast killed at least 39 people and severely damaged hundreds of nearby homes. the refinery can't start until days after the fire is out. back here at home some lighter news. mark sanford, the former south carolina governor is now engaged to his long-time girlfriend. his future wife is the argentine woman he left south carolina to visit a few years back. >> to cover his disappearance,

he claimed he was hiking the appalachian trail. the discovery of that lie unraveled his political career and his marriage. a dubious distinction for the new york jets this morning. after three losses in a row, they still have yet to score a preseason touchdown. not a good start. speaking of touchdowns, here's some highlights from espn. randy scott here with your "sportscenter" update. peyton manning and the broncos looking for a win and consistency. manning, so far in the preseason, zero touchdowns to go with three interceptions. getting that rash you right there. broncos, a 10-0 lead. ensuing drive, alex smith issues with the snap. frank gore can't get it. broncos recover. the bench boss, he would like a word.

ensuing broncos drive. peyton manning doing what great quarterbacks do. finding decker again. 10 of 12, 122 yards and two touchdowns. broncos up, 17-0, getting a little greedy here. going for the onside kick. matthew willis recovers it. the niners set up shop. and smith, quick strike to his big tight end, vernon davis. 44 yards down the sideline. niners win, 29-24. national leg baseball, chipper jones's last regular season game in san francisco. a nice ovation from the fans. fans did not like this. juan francisco, gone. after big-time timmy jim, tim lincecum. jason heyward, when he's healthy, he's strong. braves go on the win, 7-1 is your final. monday night baseball tonight on espn. american league action.

rays in texas taking on the rangers. derek holland expected to go against david price. 8:00 p.m. eastern time on espn, espn3 and live on the watch espn app. well, the 2012 little league world series title goes to -- japan. the youngsters from tokyo are celebrating a 12-2 victory over u.s. champion tennessee. >> at least it was close. japan hit five home runs in their win on sunday. their ace pitcher struck out eight in four innings. the winners jogged the tra dshl post game victory lap are flags from their country and the u.s. >> congratulations to them. >> must be a real good team. that's an ugly score. up next, "the pulse" prince harry getting back to business after, shall we say, a little too much exposure. and a different kind of

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father. his girlfriend, on top of that, has dumped him. there's word that britain's ministry of defense has put him on probation for bad judgment. baby news this morning. nicole snooki polizzi has given bifrt to her first child, a boy, lorenzo dominic. >> nicole, enzo and jionni are doing great. >> i can't believe she's a mother. a controversial rally in asheville, income mc. the second annual go topless vefbt to champion women's rights. >> it's not against the law to go topless. some cities and towns have banned the act themselves. some in asheville say their city should too. >> hope we didn't ruin anyone's breakfast there.

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updating the top stories now. tropical storm isaac is raking over florida this morning with heavy rain and 65-mile-an-hour winds. it could hit new orleans and the area wednesday as a category 2 storm. officials have issued evacuation orders for more than 50,000 people near new orleans. >> the tropical storm threat has shortened the republican convention from four days to three. thunderstorms in the four corners. isaac could trigger tornadoes along the gulf coast. afternoon showers in the or not east. finally from us this morning, a terrifying high-speed chase across two states with police many hot pursuit. >> at the wheel, an iowa mom weaving in and out of traffic.

a faulty accelerate sir to blame. >> i'm coming up on a bunch of cars. i'm so scared. i just -- please -- oh, my god. i'm scared to death. >> reporter: it's every driver's worth nightmare. lori in the black suv, speeding down the highway, not able to stop. >> i can't get to it move. >> are you able to hit your brax at all. >> i'm trying everything. >> reporter: her accelerator jammed. trapped on a highway with her speed increasing. >> i'm going 98 miles an hour now. >> reporter: minutes later. >> oh, my god, i'm going 108 miles an hour. >> she's going 108. >> reporter: ultimately going 115 miles an hour. somehow she managed to dodge cars at high speed.

she swer haves into the median. state troopers direct traffic out of her path. >> they're in front and one's in back of you. >> reporter: for 30 miles and 59 minutes, nothing can stop the car. but incredibly, there were no accidents and no one was hurt, because suddenly, the engine stop period. mes the halt, and she stumbled out to safety. >> i was like, oh, my god, i'm safe, i'm sa,safe. thank you, you. i have a little angel that don't drive faster than i can fly. and -- i think that's what helped me. because -- >> reporter: john hrsciffen, abc news.